Monday Aug 10, 2009 Marat Safin Interview

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, definitely. It made a huge difference. If start different, would have been faster, I think I would finish in two sets. I started to play well. I slipped away in the third set, but definitely a terrible first set.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

MARAT SAFIN: No, just a little bit too nervous. I was a little bit ?? a little bit slow. Couldn’t move properly. Didn’t serve well. A lot of mistakes without moving, so it’s tough. I was a little bit too nervous.

Q. Can we say this year that you’ve played as well as ever but not for long enough time in matches?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Well, lack of confidence, also, because when you get ?? I lost a lot of matches when I was really close. I think I couldn’t close it in Miami, couldn’t close it in Rome, Monte?Carlo.

If I would close these matches, I think I would be in a different position and definitely I would be closer to top 20, and of course it would give me much more confidence and then these kind of matches, they don’t slip away.

Q. Once again, played well. He was coming back from a long letdown?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Well, the guy, you know, whole time he’s injured, and he’s ?? he’s okay. He’s good, good athlete. He tries his best. He runs, he fights. Sometimes a little bit he goes for too much with the dancing story. It’s a part of his game. Well, he’s a good athlete.

Q. What made the difference in the third set? You were a break up.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I stopped ?? I stopped and started to get a little bit ?? I got tight in the 3?2. Didn’t serve any first serves. Just pushed the ball in the middle of the court, and I made ?? he didn’t do anything special from 3?2. He just played, put his first serve in, and I missed everything basically. It was not ?? it was not incredible, his game.

Q. What’s your motivation going towards the US Open now?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, my motivation is to finish up the year, so I’m not really ?? I’m a different ?? my way is a little bit different than for other players. They try to get as many points as they can. I try to win some matches and enjoy it.

End of the season and end of my career, so it’s a little bit different. Maybe I get a little bit more extra pressure than other guys, because I want to finish up in a right note. But it’s getting tough, but I can ?? it will wait.

Q. How much would you like to win a title before you retire?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I’m realistic. I know I’m not going to win it. There is no way.

At least ?? just enjoy it, you know. It’s difficult. It’s getting tougher and tougher with the tournaments. With the more time I spend on the court, it’s getting really tough. It really gets into you, and it’s not easy to play.

Every match is ?? it’s a battle. It’s very tough to motivate. It’s very tough not to choke in important moments. For some reason I should be other way around. I should enjoy it more. But I want to finish up nicely.

It’s getting into my head in important moments so that’s why sometimes I stop. My legs are stopping and a little bit ?? I get a little bit tight.

Q. Can an old journalist make a suggestion here?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.

Q. How about, when you get nervous, a little vodka?

MARAT SAFIN: I’ll have a lot of plans to do it afterwards.

Q. Did you enjoy some part of the match tonight?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I’ve been playing well. Some of the points were great, a lot of great games. Important moments, like at the 3?2, I should have hold my serve 4?2, and it would be a different story. It slipped away.

Slips away. I don’t have a grip on important moments. I wanted too much. So I know what I have to do, but it’s difficult when you’re out there. You know, it, and but doesn’t have ?? it slips away, and I feel it.

Q. Your sister once said she never has a press conference without being asked about you.

MARAT SAFIN: All right. You want to ask me about her?

Q. Can you enjoy it when she’s playing well like she has the past year? Is it fun to watch her?

MARAT SAFIN: Her?

Q. Because after years when she wasn’t playing so well, are you enjoying it now?

MARAT SAFIN: I’m enjoying it, but she ?? she’s a hard worker. So for her, everything is like a battle. She wants it. She wants it badly. She spends so much time on court. I think she is more professional than all the players together.

So when she’s trying and she’s ?? nobody believed that she’s going to be No. 1 in the world. Nobody believed that she going to be top 10 even two, three years ago.

So look where she is right now. A lot of people they giving her trouble, okay, she’s No. 1 in the world but she never won a Grand Slam.

So it’s a little bit ?? it gets tough on her. But she’s there. She’s fighting. She’s trying. I’m really proud of her that she can stand, and I tell everybody to fuck off basically in every press conference. I would do this way, but unfortunately she’s very polite to you guys.

But I’m really proud that she’s holding up herself even though that’s somebody can be really rough on her. She’s there. I hope she can be No. 1 for a long time so she can prove to everybody that they can go fuck themselves.

Q. When she became No. 1 and joined you as the only brother/sister as No. 1, did you have a celebration together?

MARAT SAFIN: We will. I’m really proud. I’m not proud of myself so much as I’m proud of my sister because she’s ?? everybody spoke about me. I know she’s the younger one. I was No. 1 in the world, and everybody expected from her, well, we’ll see where she can get to. And she made it. She pulled through and became No. 1 in the world.

Well, she’s in ?? in every Grand Slam she’s in the semifinal. She’s getting to the finals. So it really makes me proud to have such a great sister, and I’m going to leave something, or our family will leave something in tennis.

Q. Now that you stopped, what about coaching her?

MARAT SAFIN: Oh, you want me to hang myself? (laughter.)

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